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Slicing Sands
Inside the City The wind swept across this forsaken desert as it always did. It was one of the few constants of this land, along with the sun and heat. Rain did not come often to the kingdom of , especially the parts now long since abandoned. Parts such as the ancient city of Pashak. Once a thriving city, it had fallen to ruin for centuries now after the Oasis at its heart dried up. Now the only people who live in this region of the desert were the occasional tribe and town that called the various Oasis that dotted the region, though none retained much of this city's former glory. These days, there wasn't even much reason to visit it, what sections that hadn't been completely swallowed up by the desert has long been since picked clean. To most people, the city was gone for good. It would never be uncovered from underneath the all-consuming sands. But to some, those sands were merely an inconvenience, not an impossibility. A cloaked man walked north across the ocean of sand, treading from ridge to ridge on his trek. He sought the long-abandoned city, enticed by rumours of knowledge that had lain there for centuries. There once existed a great library in the city of Pashak, the equal to any of the greats in the world. Like the rest of the city, it had been abandoned when the water dried up, left to rot among the shifting sands. But not much withers away in the desert, the lack of water preventing the degradation of most materials. Barring disaster, its records were likely intact. Records that hadn't been crippled by the World Government's erasure of history. The man reached the ruins of the city, only a few towers and rooftops still poking above the sandy expanse. While one of those may have belonged to the library, any path downwards was filled. The man simply didn't have time to dig down around each ruin one by one to see what building it was connected to. He'd have to simply excavate the city in one go. The winds of Alabasta always blew from North to South, drawing air from the arid mountains to the north across the sand swept plains. But as the man stretched out his hand the wind quelled for a moment, before reversing direction. A simple waving of a hand reversed the air's flow, first gently and then with more intensity as the sand began flowing. The dunes slowly started shrinking as the sand took to the sky. The flow of the wind created a storm of sand to the north of the city, whipping about the sky as the city slowly began to be uncovered. For three days and three nights, this continued as more and more of the city continued to emerge. Until eventually the man was satisfied with his work, having revealed the soaring towers of the long-gone city. To the north, the storm was beginning to fade. The cloaked man surveyed his work one more time, looking across the city. Then he pulled back his hood and drank from his waterskin before Bimore O. Jack started to walk into the city. Not too far away, but far enough to not be seen from where the nearby city was, Osiris had been visiting home for his mother's birthday party. The house was decorated with feminine ornaments. Music blasted through the walls and food was spread along the streets. Luckily this was a rather small town, so everyone knew one another. Had someone been throwing even the smallest party, the entire town was invited. Osiris and Zoe danced among the boy's family after Dexter's performance. However, Dexter seemed to have deteriorated from the rest of the crowd and submerged himself into a dark alley. Leaning against a wall, he held a Den Den Mushi in his hand. "It ain't funny, Captain." Dexter stated into the Den Den Mushi. The snail burst out into laughter with tears slide from underneath its glasses, clearly mimicking the person on the other side of the snail. "Okay, okay, okay, Dexter. Sorry, I just can't believe ya' performed for free. Wonder what tha' girl, Lucina will say! Well, anyway Dexter... ya know I only ring you if it's impertant'. Der Marines have come across some valuable infermation' in Alabasta. I don't knew what er' is, but I want ya' to find out while yer' there. Titan out..." Dexter placed the Den Den Mushi into his jacket and emerged from the alley back onto the partying street. He moved through the streets swiftly until he came across Zoe. He held his palm out to his side next to the girl. Wiping across the air, a small stream of flames appear in his palm. Evaporating, a sheathed blade appeared from the flames and fell into his hand. "W-where are you going, Dex-kun?" Zoe asked, nervously, but the boy completely ignored her question. "Just stay here with Osiris, I'll be back girl." Grabbing his hoodie and throwing it over his head, he jumped straight up over the town and dashed forward. Disappearing from both Zoe and Osiris' view, causing the two of them to look at each other. Jumping through the air, essentially gliding, for what seemed about four hours, Dexter could see a tornado of sand in the distance. With a closer look, he found various buildings nearby it, all old looking and pretty much ruins. Approaching the general area of this vacant town, Dexter zipped his jacket and pulled his mask over his face and began to head inside of the general buildings. The man named Jack wandered through this long-abandoned city, lost in thought as he examined his surroundings. He was walking through history, simply enough. Once this city had contained a civilization's hopes and dreams, now all it contained were the echoes of a past that would never see a real future. The place was covered in drawings, placards and signs written in a language few understood anymore. While the man named Jack wasn't one of them, once he had secured what he came here for, there would be time to find one. He tapped the buildings as he walked, feeling the echoes through the stone and air, attempting to discern what lay beyond without having to open each and every single building within this necropolis. Many were empty, their contents having long since rotten away. But some contained stone objects, maybe some metal that their former inhabitants had left behind. Each building retained this disappointment until at last, he was fairly certain he had found what he was looking for. In front of Jack, a monolith of a door stood in the front of a rather large building towards the centre of the dead city. Easily twenty feet high, it had been sealed against the elements by whoever left it shut. Jack tapped upon this door, feeling the stone and the air behind it, doing this best to discern what lies beyond. Jack had spent a lifetime mastering the Gogyō Shizora-ryū style of swordsmanship, a sword style that involved the controlling of vibrations. By controlling and setting off specific frequencies of vibrations through the stone, he could tell its shape and analyze whatever was behind the stone as if he had echolocation. It wasn't an ability he frequently utilized, but here it came perfectly in handy. Within the building were vaulted arches, holding the ceiling up over numerous low walls. Based on what he could tell from this limited view of the room from outside, it seemed reasonable that this was the place. Even if it wasn't, well that didn't stop him from just trying the next one. Jack's sword flashed from its sheath for nary a moment before returning. But in that moment steel met stone, and the stone gave way. A large line appeared upon the stone door, a clean-cut arcing through the stone to create a door large enough for a man to pass through. A low humming could be heard as Jack's hand pressed upon the stone, his sleeve billowing as his hand generated an immense suction upon the door. The man pulled his arm back, grinding sounds rumbling from the door as the cut-out insert was pulled from its frame. Jack briefly hoisted it above his head before setting it down heavily, generating a crash that could easily be heard through most of the city as the multi-ton rock hit the ground. Jack didn't even pause at the noise, moving forward to enter the building and see what was inside. Upon entering the city, Dexter's golden eyes glanced at the many builds and architecture around. The city itself was much different from the rest of Alabasta in a way that couldn't be explained, but the teen could just feel it. Raptor gave his specific instructions, and for that man, he would be sure to carry out the task given to him without fail. Continuing along one of the many pathways of the city, he continued to survey his surrounds taking in everything that he could and remembering it all. In the distance, he could see an overwhelmingly large door, but until he reached it, he continued to look to his left and right every chance he could. Reaching into his hoodie pocket, he pulled out a small notepad and a pen. Was he about to document the things he saw? "Sailin' through the World, had to stop at Alabasta. Tried to creep around the town, but got a call from captain' Raptor." He rhymed this sentence a couple times, trying to figure out a good way to have it roll off of his tongue. "I'll make that a throwaway, this ain't i-" Dexter jerked his neck upwards to put his eyes onto the door in the distance. It was near silent, even trained ears would've missed it. But, a keen swordsman knows exactly how a slash at air would sound. Jack's slash, while silent, was felt by Dexter. He quickly threw the notepad back into his pocket. The young swordsman took off down the path, his natural speed showing just how swift he truly was. As he got closer, he heard a loud thump. As if something had fallen. He finally reached the large door only to find it had been cut--his suspicions correct. He could tell it was work of a master swordsman, possibly someone even great in the art than himself, especially considering he was still a learner. Looking through the door he noticed a man walking along. Quickly Dexter jumped up, flipped upside down, and latched onto the gigantic door hanging upside like some sort of comic . He took a quick glimpse at the man walking once more, "Who the hell..." He asked himself, trying to remain quiet. Countless scrolls surrounded Jack as he walked through his destination. He had indeed found the Library, and it was as grand as he expected it to be. Now he just had to find what he was looking for without being able to know what he was reading. Jack parsed his lips and drew out his breath, sending a breeze throughout the building to more effectively map its layout. There appeared to be several passageways leading into the back, and even one that seemed to lead down. But before he could investigate this, Jack had one more thing he had to deal with first. A presence behind him, hidden from his sight but not from his mind. He hoped the young man would simply go away and leave him in peace, but he was also more than aware that almost never happened. Jack shrugged a bit as he pulled his hood back up over his head. He cleared his throat for a moment before acknowledging the presence. "Whoever is behind me, come out. I know you're there." Dexter remained quiet and lifted himself up so that he didn't hang over the doorframe like a mistletoe. "Don't run up, I know you there, swords swingin' everywhere." He thought to himself, rhyming and nodding his head as he did. "Yeah, I'll have to remember that." Ignoring Jack's request, Dexter crawled under the doorframe like before, each of his movements was silent. He got to a spot on the ceiling and hung there for just a short moment. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a number of kunai in his left hand and shuriken in his right. In two single motions, Dexter launched a barrage of ninja tools at Jack. From where he hung, the attacks were all aimed at Jack's back. Then suddenly, kunai and shuriken would collide with one another, changing their paths as if they had minds of their own and angled themselves to the sides and top of Jack. Jack crouched down and picked up a handful of sand off the floor as his unknown companion began moving around the room. The man clearly wasn't willing to converse, which meant he would have to be dealt with. "Why are they never reasonable..." Jack sighed before taking a deep breath. He gently blew on the sand on his open palm as a quiet hum buzzed through the room. The gritty substance swirled around him on windswept wings, forming a shimmering shield as the metal projectiles closed in. The vortex struck them on the sides, shifting their course ever so slightly as they careened off to the rock below, skittering along the ground. Jack raised his hand high into the air before he swung it down with a flourish, the current of air following his arm consuming the sand along the main aisleway. He spun as his arm continued through the swing to point directly at the silent man, a current of sand racing up towards him as if Jack had used a sand devil fruit to manipulate it. The stream of air and sand would hopefully scour the man from the ceiling while not damaging the building around him. After all, Jack needed this place intact. Hopefully, this man was operating under the same conditions. "What the," Dexter mumbled to himself, drawing his blade out from its sheath. Flipping the hilt across his palm and gripping it in a rather unusual way. "It ain't no way in hell, everybody here can control sand." Twisting his wrist in a one hundred and ninety-degree angle, Dexter flipped his blade over his fingers. He performed this action quite a few times before Jack's sand attacked had closed in on him and what he was aiming to achieve soon came into fruition. The constant spinning of his blade allowed for Dexter to create a very minimal wind vortex, which once the sand would close in, would be swallowed up. Continuing to spin his blade, he moved his arm to his side along with his now sandy vortex had seemingly compressed into a tendril of sorts. With a grunt, Dexter launched the tendril at the wall next to him causing the specific building they stood in, to shake a little. "Awww damn," Dexter cursed, "fuckin' Baron's gonna' kill me! Then again..." he paused, thinking back to his earlier conversation with the man. "On second thought, maybe I should fuck some of this shit up for him laughin' at me earlier." "Hey!" Dexter called out, "I ain't no analytic or mathematician, but it looks to me like you got the Suna Suna no Mi. That's a piss poor combination for a swordsman." Smacking his palm against his forehead, Dexter remembered. "Wait, no... That's Osiris' fruit. Either way," poking his chest out and placing his free hand on his hip, flattened his tongue to his cheeks. "It's best yer' be leavin' boy. Tere' 'ere ruins are for my discoverin', ya' 'here?" It was a piss poor imitation of Blumenthal Gerhard. "I haven't been a boy for over twenty years now young man. So you may want to watch your tongue around your elders. After all, one may just take it off if it flaps about too much." Jack responded calmly toward the man on the ceiling. "However, it is unfortunate you know the true wielder of the Suna Suna, guess my ruse is seen through." He shrugged. He sighed again before addressing the interloper in a more commanding tone. "Your claim that these ruins are yours is laughable at best. I'm going to give you but one more chance to leave. I won't guarantee your life afterwards." As if to emphasize his point, Jack slowly drew Nidai Kitetsu with a sharp hiss this stranger would no doubt hear. "However, if you think you can claim this place from me. You are welcome to try." Jack finished as he pointed his blade straight at Dexter. As he drew his blade, it was as if there was a beam of light that followed its revealing. Dexter leaped down from the ceiling, his eyes stuck on the unknown figure, as his blade's edge smashed against the floor. Dexter know who he was, he didn't need a book or even the man himself to say who he was. "I know you, I know that blade," Dexter stated, taking a gulp of his own spit as he did. "The people of the Ryutsume Dojo worship you, Bimore O. Jack one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea." They may have been quite a distance away, but to Dexter's trained ninja eyes, there was nothing he could not see, well at least not from that distance. "That blade there, it's regarded throughout all of Wano..." he gulped once more, "Nidai Kitetsu!" "Ah, so you know of this cursed blade of mine, and well enough to identify it at a glance," Jack said solemnly as he pulled off his hood. "Just be glad this is the one I drew, not its elder brother." "You now know who I am, whoever it is you are. And while I do appreciate the praise, my previous statement still applies." While most people had heard of Dexter and may recognize him with ease, Jack hadn't for one simple reason. He didn't like rap. "I'm going to kindly have to ask you to leave until I find what I came here for. After that, you may do with this place what you wish. Will you take the sensible route and stand down?" Placing one foot out in front of the other, Dexter began to step forward a couple steps and then stopped. "Dragon D. Dexter, Ninja-Samurai of the Ryutsume Dojo." Introducing himself was the right thing to do, a common practice of the members of the Ryustume Dojo. "A swordsman should know that once both swords are drawn, there ain't no backin' down until one of the parties have admitted defeat. Plus... There's a few reasons why I can't stand down, but the most important..." Smashing the tip of his blade in the sand below, he'd create a sandscreen to cover him from Jack's immediate view. "Yeah, Baron wants me to uncover the secrets of this city, but I got somethin' else to do when a swordsman of great notoriety is in front of me." Dexter paused, he'd gotten sudden flashbacks, but because everything happened so quickly, his mind was in a blur. Dashing forward, Dexter would lean forward and drop his body to where the front of his face would inch closer to the ground. But before he'd hit the ground completely, he'd suddenly stop just an inch before. Exquisite body control he had indeed, being able to stop himself from colliding with ground and hold his current position. Kicking forward, Dexter's body lunged through the screen of sand, bursting out at Jack with his sword's blade along his body, and the hilt in front of his face--a striking manner. "To help Tenrairyu get a name for itself!" "Someone who actually follows the old ways... it's been too long." Jack said before announcing himself, "Bimore O. Jack, Grandmaster-In-Exile of the Gogyō Shizora-ryū. I accept your challenge." Even with his sight obscured, Jack was never truly blind. After all, he had the wind at his side. He had grown so attuned to the wind that it became his eyes and ears. He could see all that touched it as clear as day, even in the darkest of nights. Nothing in the sky could escape his sight. Jack went high as Dexter went low, a simple push from his feet was enough to flip him over Dexter in a simple movement. The swordsman would simply find that his lower body was no longer where it should have been. As he passed over the young man his soles reached for the ceiling even as he faced downwards to look at the man. Jack pulled in his arm before stabbing out at Dexter below, Nidai Kitetsu's extra length came into play as he made a long stroke, aiming to spear right through the center of Dexter's back with a swift stab. "Let's see just how good you are." Body control. It was one of the main essentials taught to Dexter by Yoshitsune. Dexter had a, what Yoshitsune considers, perfect body for an agile swordsman. But, what Yoshitsune had truly been referring to, was Dexter's ability to control his body in any way he pleased. Swinging his blade in a perfect arc, the blade traveled from underneath him, to the front of him, then perfectly behind him. The lengths he went through to get his arm to his back could not be achieved by a person of a normal skeletal structure. Dexter, however, was double jointed which meant he could spin his arm in a perfect circle, allowing him to "cover" his blind spots. Had it not been for that as well as Tenrairyu being a relatively small blade, he'd have found his back ripped through by Jack's blade. Tenrairyu's clash against Nidai Kitetsu would create a force of wind that would cause the building the shake even further. Chandeliers that once hung from the ceiling would crash into the sandy pavement. Kicking against the ground, Dexter launched himself forward from underneath Jack. "If he 'boutta take me lightly and not attack with his true strength. Then Imma' cut him down with this next move..." Placing his hand into the dirt, Dexter performing a front somersault and landed to his feet. "Nagare Kawa," He mumbled to himself, lunging himself forth once more, but rather than dropping to the ground he remained up. He truly had something planned up his sleeve. "Not bad," Jack stated quietly as he landed, pivoting on his toes to face his opponent. Jack raised Nidai Kitetsu again as he took his stance on bent knees, his left arm held high and back as the sword pointed directly at Dexter once more. The master of wind and sky didn't wait for whatever the youth had planned, instead opting to take a more proactive defence. Nidai Kitetsu flashed out towards Dexter once more. However this time instead of aiming to run the young man through, Nidai Kitetsu had a different target in mind. The famed blade aimed directly for the fingers and wrist of the young swordsman, taking advantage of Nidai's excessive length in order to strike before the other weapon even got in range. The young man would be forced to choose between continuing his attack and risk a career-ending injury as his fingers were removed, or stop himself and lose his attack entirely. But he wouldn't face this threat merely once as Jack was fully prepared to repeat this manoeuvre as many times as necessary. Blocking each and every attack in the same method as needed with a Spiteful Blade. "Damn. That blade makin' it hard to close in on him. Totally ain't my style." Dexter thought, watching as Jack closed in on him. With Jack's sudden thrust, Dexter would pivot his inside foot and using the moment of his previous dash, he'd essentially find himself on the "outside" of Jack. The quick movements could have easily been mistaken for some form of "teleportation". With another hard kick at the ground, he'd push forward one more time in another diagonal angle with his blade in a slashing manner at Jack open side. "—Kobunori." He shouted, calling out the attack's name. The youngster had bypassed the technique much more quickly than Jack had anticipated, this he could not deny. Most swordsmen he had used it on bashed themselves silly until they gave up, not realizing that the best way to beat some obstacles was to go around it. Jack twisted away as Dexter moved to his side, presenting his back to the samurai. His raised his outstretched sword to the sky as if he was making a slash in reverse, pulling the sword behind his back in a manner similar to sheathing the blade. The shriek of steel on steel could be heard as blade met blade, Tenrairyu sliding along the edge of Nidai Kitetsu. Then Jack did something most would find unexpected. Jack pulled forward upon his sword as if he was going to swing it back. But instead of the sword moving, Jack did instead as his body lifted up to balance on the still floating weapon even as Dexter's sword clashed with it. As the blades slipped off from each other Jack allowed his weapon to move again, the swordsman and sword twisting through the air to land upon Dexter's other side with a horizontal strike aimed to slice through the young man at his waist. Dexter wanted to think, but he didn't want to hesitate so instead he simply acted. Planting his feet once more, Dexter brought his blade from his left side all the way to his right, by carrying his arm across his head in an upwards crescent-like slash down to his side. As the blade travelled over his head, electricity sprouted from it, dancing around the blade as it collided against Jack's own. There was another collision of steel between the two and while Dexter may have been able to avoid noticeable damage, he suffered just a slight cut at his clothing that managed to get to his skin just slightly. Pushing against Nidai and parrying the blade, Dexter launched himself backwards to create a gap between the two. As he looked onto Jack, electricity also danced around his blade almost in a tamed like manner and it brought a smile upon Dexter's face. Showing off his teeth with his smile, they'd seemingly grown into slight fangs. "Nidai really is one of the great blades," Dexter stated, bringing Tenrairyu down to his side. "No matter what you do or what you say, ain't no way you goin' all the way." The teen referenced the fact he knew Jack had been holding back. The sandy pavement and building they stood in would begin to quake and electricity would begin to violently dance around Tenrairyu. Dust fell from the ceiling of the ancient building and bricks which held the building up as walls, would begin to loosen up and fall out of place. Even crumbs from the ceiling fell down to the ground. Dexter's mission of recovering the knowledge and artefacts of this lost city, had gone out the window rather quickly. "Jack, what is the style of swordsmanship you use?" Swordy Swords "Of course, I'm not going all out," Jack stated calmly, holding his stance loosely. "This is a library. If I had been using the Gogyō Shizora-ryū to it's fullest, well... to put it simply there would be nothing left." he finished, answering both of the youth's comments with one of his own. "But if you want a taste of it so badly, then I shall gladly give one to you. Kyoku Ichi..." Jack uttered as he pulled his blade back in a manner similar to before, the weapon held high and to the back with the tip pointed at Dexter. Jack disappeared from sight for but a moment, crossing the space between him and Dexter in a heartbeat. Nidai Kitetsu flashed forward, seeking the heart of its target like an arrow let loose. The air around the pair followed, drawn in by a vortex created with the blade's passing. Even if Dexter managed to dodge the blade, he'd quickly find himself being drawn in the same manner. As the blade reached the end of its stroke, the air did not. It bellowed onwards, impacting the fair wall in a perfect circle, slicing through a half dozen feet of rock and pushing the material within the vortex outwards, leaving a hole all the way through the wall and into the building across the street. Even as this went on, Jack's other hand was not idle, controlling the air around the vortex to make sure the library's contents were unharmed. Unlike Dexter, he hadn't forgotten why he was here. "Bōfū-Tankyū Ken..." "The accuracy..." Dexter thought to himself, taking a step back from Jack's thrust but the length of the blade made it difficult for the boy to completely avoid the attack. Nidai Kitetsu's tip would rip through Dexter's jacket, however, once impact would be attempted to be made upon his skin, there would be some resistance. Still, the blade cut deeply through his skin, but not deep enough to its intended target--his heart. Leaping back once again, Dexter gripped his chest and blood began to pour all over his hand. "Gaah damn." He thought in reference to Jack's strike. While he may have no saw the dent the man put into the wall, he sure as hell could feel the dent he placed into his chest. "Damn, gotta' be grateful for Busoshoku Haki.. That was a simple thrust, but it wasn't as basic as his slashes though." "In that case," Dexter took off towards Jack leading the offensive charge once again with his blade high over his head, "Imma' try and keep the offensive going!" ---- A bolt of lightning struck the building both inside and out, destroying the ceiling and other bits and pieces on the inside. Possibly even a few of the relics lying around within. From the rubble, Dexter would find himself thrown and nearly a bloody mess with electricity dancing all around his body. "Shit, with the Ope Ope no Mi, I could've fixed myself up." Bringing his blade in front of his face, Dexter closed his eyes slightly awaiting Jack to emerged from the building. "We ain't done yet, Tenrairyu. We got one more move we can pull off before I reach my limit. I didn't think he'd do me in so quickly..." Squatting a bit, Dexter looked down the edge of his blade. "But before that, Imma' dance with his style for a bit." The rocks that were the remains of the library's roof rumbled and rattled before they were raised into the sky upon a cushion of wind. Underneath the rubble stood the figure of Jack, his sword slowly spiraling through the air to generate the current needed to lift that much mass. He had been caught by the falling debris created by the lightning strike, unable to get out of the way without sacrificing the scrolls he had come here for in the first place. As such, he had been forced to take the multiple tons of rock head on without damaging his surroundings further. Jack gave Dexter a cold stare as he stepped out if the building, being annoyed at the damage to the Library. He wasn't entirely sure what had destroyed the ceiling, but at least he had managed to save most of the scrolls within. "I'm not going to ask what that was. But I'm fairly certain it was your doing. Just be glad I was able to save a majority of the scrolls or this would be about to get uglier." Jack announced with audible annoyance. With that declaration, Jack swung his sword towards Dexter with a single silver flash, a twister of sand drenched wind flowing off the blade. The rocks jerked forward as the cushion of air beneath them was ripped away, catching the stones within the twister as they were launched towards Dexter in a rain of stone and sand. "If you're not done yet, then come at me." Jack challenged as he stood upon slightly bent knees, Nidai wielded with both hands low and at his side. Blood sliding down his head, Dexter watched as Jack emerged from the fallen building unharmed. He surveyed Jack's actions carefully, not just this time, but from the very beginning of their battle up until now. Jack was no run of the mill chump he was going to be able to dispose of in a couple short techniques. Senses keen and mind intact, Dexter managed to pinpoint the location of the rocks mixed into the sand storm with his Kenbunshoku Haki. Like the ninja he was, the teen somersaulted and dodged the falling rocks in every way possible showing off just how acrobatic he was. Wasting no time, he went forward at Jack closing the gap between the two in two big steps. Quickly spinning his sword, to change the flow of the wind around it, he created a mini vortex around the tip of his blade and held it out in front of himself. Pushing his blade forward, he sent a blade of compressed at directly aimed for Jack's chest. Switching his blade to his off hand, Dexter gripped the hilt of the sword leaving the sound of clanking mental behind as he did, spinning the blade in the same manner as before creating another mini wind vortex around it. Leaving but a shadowy blur behind, Dexter pivoted once more, but as he did he combined it with his Shadow Stitching technique from earlier allowing him to ease himself behind Jack much quicker than before. Whilst behind Jack, Dexter pushed forward once more with his blade reciting the words, "Bōfū-Tankyū Ken...", completely mimicking Jack's move from earlier, sending another compressed shot towards his back, leaving Jack to deal with two attacks at once. "Kyoku Roku..." Jack uttered as he twisted his blade to face upwards. Dexter had started imitating his techniques, to the older man's annoyance. People always tried doing that, though Dexter did it better than most. A twister of air and sand started to bleed off the tip of his sword, dripping down towards the sand covered ground. It twisted and undulated as it connected the two, staying motionless until the time was right. Until Jack moved. A flash of light was all that could be seen of Nidai Kitetsu as it arced out, bisecting the two shells of air with a single motion. The halves of the attacks split around Jack, smashing into their counterparts with a loud crack. Jack himself had twisted, bringing his blade up and around in a single movement to both slice through Dexter's copied technique and to face him. Getting behind Jack did little to conceal one from his sight. The twister propogated outwards, still tied on one end to the ground and to Nidai Kitetsu on the other. The surrounding buildings shuddered briefly as it impacted them, rocking the ancient walls before the twister stopped moving, the wind sticking to the stone as if it had been lashed there to leave a rope of wind connected between them and Jack's blade. "Shibari...' Jack finished before addressing Dexter directly. "Your speed is commendable for one your age, but your power is lacking. The wind chasing sword requires both to be effective. You may find this technique a bit more suited to your abilities." Jack leaned forward as he stepped towards Dexter for his next strike, heaving the blade upwards in another slash aimed at rending the youth from hip to shoulder in a single strike. While he may have not said it out loud, Jack's words meant a lot of him. He etched them into his mind and would certainly recite them at a late date: "Your speed is commendable for one your age...". Before he could react or give a smile, Jack had managed to somehow rotate his entire body around to face Dexter and completely nullify the stolen technique. Yet, in the same instance, Jack had already launched his counter-attack. Much like Dexter, but to a much higher degree, Jack had body control. But there was something much more envious this veteran swordsman possessed. Complete dominance over his blade, controlling it as though it were an extension of his body. Something Dexter lacked, despite being a well-skilled swordsman himself. The whip of wind traveled from Jack's hip in an underhanded flash, aiming from hip to shoulder, and Dexter used what little time he had to develop a counter-attack. With his arm already extended out from his previous attack, Dexter's loosened his body and leaned forward and began falling towards the ground. Twisting his arm thanks to his double joints, he held the hilt of his sword and pointed its sharp end at Jack's chest. Rotating his wrist, he altered the force of wind around his sword and temporarily tamed it thrusting forward at Jack's chest with the wind blade, increasing the length of Tenrairyu. "Amaterasu Style—Fūkiba," he muttered, in attempts to exchange a blow for a blow with the Shichibukai. If Jack would choose to continue on with his strike, his chest would most definitely suffer from impalement. Nut more than like, Jack's haki would prevent Dexter's own blade from doing much damage to him. Dexter, on the other hand, would not only suffer from the wind whip Jack created but from the source of it all... Nidai Kitetsu, a strike that would render the left side of his body completely useless. Either way, Dexter gained nothing from his recent actions and had Jack chosen to continue on, Dexter would certainly be defeated. "Tekkai..." Jack almost whispered. "You've earned at least this much young one." He didn't even try to avoid the strike of Dexter, his iron-hard muscles taking the brunt of the blow, allowing it to pierce his skin but not much further. A drop of blood could be seen rolling down the blade of his opponent. This had the added effect of weakening Jack's strike as his left arm stopped responding so precisely. A wave of crimson released from the chest of the young swordsman, the weakened blow still being enough to end this fight. It would leave a gaping wound on Dexter, but not the mortal strike it was originally intent on. He wasn't entirely sure what Dexter thought of his attacks, but each and every single one of them would have been lethal without Dexter's intervention. Jack was not one to go easy on his opponents. A brief flick of the wrist was all it took to leave an arc of blood upon the sand of the ground, Jack cleaning off Nidai with the simple motion. "A commendable effort, but ultimately it is not yet your time. Reach for your inner strength, hone your edge until even the heavens will be split in twain, and then you may be ready to try again." Jack turned from the youth, sheathing his vaunted blade with an eerie hiss as he walked back towards the library to see what could be salvaged. To see if what he had came for was here. Category:Dal101 Category:EmperorSigma Category:Role-Plays Category:Sig's RPs